it marked the public start to the second obama administration, and it featured presidential appeals to extend prosperity and full freedoms to all americans. as the sun rose over the nation's capital on this monday hundreds of thousands of people began descending on the national mall to witness the occasion. officials estimated 500-700,000 attendees. that was far fewer than four years ago when nearly two million turned out. but today's crowd gave no hint of diminished enthusiasm for the 44th president after a first term that saw bruising battles over health care, financial reform, deficits and spending and more. the man they came to see began his day with a morning prayer service at st. john's episcopal, near the white house and often called the church of the presidents. he was joined by first lady michelle obama and their daughters malia and sasha as well as vice president biden, his wife jill and members of their family. afterward at the white house, they hosted a bipartisan group of congressional leaders for coffee and then the president began the drive down pennsylvania avenue. all